Rose-Coloured Houses by Cathy Lynn Brooks was a big surprise in a good way. I love historical books and this one didn’t disappoint. Check out my review below!
This was an amazing book! I couldn’t put it down and ended up reading the book in a day. It inspired many emotions and it did a great job of making me emotionally invested in each of the characters.
The story follows a few different characters, but the main one is Peggy, the daughter of Colonel Charles Wickman, Esq. They live in a well-to-do town known as Rosedale and it follows her childhood and her choices throughout her life as she tries to navigate around her narcissistic father who happens to also be a con artist.
The title is the first clue to the story, a play on words for the saying “looking through rose-colored glasses” because Peggy’s life may look fine on the outside but she had a lot of trouble. Charles was verbally and emotionally abusive to her, her brothers, and their mother. He tricked and manipulated people for his own selfish benefits leaving them broken and damaged after they were no longer needed.
This is a story about perseverance in the face of adversity and Peggy does just that. While she stays with her mother, Fanny, and Charles, she eventually gets her own job and moves out with the aid of friends. Her main goal is to ensure that her future children had the childhood she always wanted and she achieves just that.
We also get a glimpse of Charles’ childhood and when his reign of terror began. The story shows us all the lives that he destroyed to get ahead in life. As a period piece, I loved reading about the different decades we’re transported to.
This author truly has a gift for storytelling. It wasn’t overly descriptive and drawn out. It was very concise writing and they gave us enough description to paint a picture of each scene. I liked that it was written in third person omniscient because I was able to see what each character was thinking in certain situations and I think that helped me personally relate to them on a deeper level.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I laughed, I cried, and I felt so many different emotions with each character. Some of their lives ended in tragedy, but others made it to where the grass truly was greener.
If you do check out the book, be sure to leave the author a review for their book! Happy reading!
Author Lauren Eason 
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